Kylian Mbappé and World Cup records go together like goals and glory and on Thursday night, he added another to his growing collection.When Mbappe took to the field for France’s quarter-final clash against Morocco in Boston on Thursday, he became the youngest player in history to make 20 FIFA World Cup appearances, reaching the milestone at just 27 years and 201 days. The record previously belonged to Poland’s Wladislaw Zmuda, who reached 20 appearances in the World Cup at 28 years and 34 days during the 1986 tournament in Mexico. Mbappe has been breaking it for almost a year.The timing of the stop is appropriate. Mbappe made his World Cup debut at 19 in Russia 2018, helping France lift the trophy in a stunning 4-2 final victory over Croatia, becoming the first teenager since Pele to score in a World Cup final in the process. He returned to Qatar 2022, winning the Golden Boot with eight goals, despite France’s final defeat in Argentina on penalties. Now in 2026, he reaches the quarter-finals with seven goals already to his name, sitting just two behind Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.Twenty appearances. Three World Cups. A World Cup winner’s medal. And at 27, he has at least two more World Cups ahead of him.The record is not the only one that Mbappe holds in this tournament. He has already surpassed Miroslav Klose’s men’s World Cup goalscoring record, becoming only the second player after Messi to score seven or more goals in two editions of the World Cup. He is also the only player in history to score three or more knockout stage goals in three separate World Cups, a feat achieved against Paraguay in the Round of 16.Messi holds the all-time record for World Cup appearances with 30, set in six tournaments. Mbappé, with at least two editions still ahead of him, has every chance of chasing that number as well.Zmuda played in four World Cups in 12 years to reach his mark. Mbappé has reached the same number in three tournaments in eight years.